About US - Structure of the ZSK

In order to effectively counteract changing environ­mental conditions, the causes for climate change need to be reduced and emer­ging climate change effects res­ponded to in a preven­tive and inten­sive manner.

The ZSK brings together the topics of urban and land­scape plan­ning, archi­tecture, engineer­ing and ecology in 17 sub­projects (seven run­ning and ten finished). The Centre aims to bring to­gether the wide range of skills in TUM’s natural science, social science and engineer­ing disci­plines as well as other Bavarian research insti­tutions for inter­disciplinary research approa­ches.

The ZSK is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of the Environ­ment and Consumer Protection (StMUV) and coor­dinated at the Technical University of Munich.

It is lead by Prof. Dr. Stephan Pauleit (Chair for Strate­gic Land­scape Plan­ning and Manage­ment) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Rötzer (Chair of Forest Growth and Yield Science).

The following questions are considered:


How can architects, landscape planners, natural scientists and socio­logists work together produc­tively on climate change adaptation and for the develop­ment climate protection and climate adap­tation strategies?


What services can urban green space provide regarding climate change adaptation? How should it be planned and designed to effectively contribute to livable, klimate protective and climate adaptated cities?


How can animals and plants threatened by climate change be protected and fostered in cities?


How should large urban squares be designed in times of climate change?


What synergistic effects for humans, flora and fauna can be created by future urban planning?


What role can different tree species provide for urban climate in the future? Can urban trees of other climate regions of the earth be integrated in the cityscape and do those tree species provide similar ecosystem services?


Do tree species of other climate regions provide similar habitats than native tree species for the arboral fauna?


How can people be sensitized for the topics modern city planning, climate adaptation and ecosystem services?


What is the growth performance and climatic effect of trees in containers? How can trees in containers be planted professionally so that they can be used sustainably as an urban climate measure?

 

How can building redensification processes be planned and implemented from a holistic, climate-smart, and resource-conserving perspective in order to also integrate green space design, microclimate and life cycle analyses, and material use into the planning processes at an early stage?

How must an infiltration system that is integrated in terms of settlement water technology, plant and animal ecology be designed in order to be optimized in terms of its urban climatic effect as well as its absorption capacity, storage capacity and drainage of precipitation water and its purification capacity of the soil body?